KaizokuHime
by David Jaxon
Summary: Vivi Returns 2.0
1. The Princess who would be a Pirate

-Chapter 1 The Princess who would be a Pirate-

As princess of the desert kingdom Arabasta, Nefertari Vivi was used to having to deal with recurring events throughout her life. Every day it was always this meeting or that ball or some other social event that required her presence. The little breaks in between were usually spent in the castle, though she did make it a point every now and then to at least try and mingle with the people of her country. Granted she could never manage to do so without at least one of her guards accompanying her, or trying to hide themselves nearby. Still the repetitiveness of her days had become fully accepted by her.

So her surprise when she woke up one day with an inexplicable feeling of confliction within herself was completely understandable. At first she simply passed it off as a onetime deal, figuring that when she woke up the next day everything would be normal again.

Almost two weeks later, here she was walking through the streets of the city of Alubarna, completely lost in thought as she tried to determine the source of this new feeling. Thankfully she had managed to keep this little secret from Igaram and Chaka, but she did tell her father about it, making sure to have him promise not to tell anyone else until she knew just what this feeling meant. Of course, he agreed.

It would be a little after midday that day that she would be presented with an answer, and it would come from a particularly unexpected source.

She had come across a group of children playing some sort of game. One of them explained that they had been reenacting the battle of Arabasta, and that she had somehow been lucky enough to get to play the role of Vivi. Vivi herself had smiled and asked if she wanted any specifics, so she could play her role better. The girl had declined, stating that she wanted to do her best to be a princess on her own. Her next words were what put the pieces in place for Vivi. "I decided I was going to be a princess one day. That is what my heart is telling me, and you always told us to follow what our hearts told us to do, right?"

For a moment, Vivi was frozen in place as her own words rang through her ears. Something about those words was connected to whatever was causing this conflicted feeling within her, but she couldn't pinpoint just what it was. She was sure that her heart was still here with her country. She was here amongst the people of her country, ensuring their happiness. That was all she really wanted…….. wasn't it?

"Look." The little girl's voice immediately brought her out of her introspective mood. "I even got the X mark you had. I remember that it meant something to you, so I made sure to get this. I wanted to get it tattooed on, but my parents wouldn't let me."

Almost immediately, her right hand involuntarily went to her left arm, right where she had gotten the X mark permanently tattooed. Her thoughts had taken her back to that day, to that very cliff side where she had tearfully watched as the heroes of her country had sailed off. As much as she had wanted to go with them, she had opted to stay. She wondered if she was starting to have regrets about not going, but tossed that aside. It wasn't regret, not by a long shot. So what was it?

Almost just as involuntarily, she had started walking back to the palace. While the palace itself had managed to escape being too damaged during Crocodile's attack, the courtyard that he had completely drained was still under repair. Thankfully, the path to the doors of the palace had been repaired, so she proceeded into the palace unimpeded. She found her father in the throne room, conversing with Chaka and Igaram about something.

"Father, I need to speak to you." She wasn't usually this forward with her father, especially when he was talking with someone else, but she needed to settle this while it was still fresh in her mind.

Cobra took one look at his daughter, and that seemed to be all he needed. "Does this have to do with that problem you came to me with?" At her nod, he turned to Igaram and Chaka. "Could you two leave us for a little bit?"

Before either of them could even open their mouths, Vivi spoke up. "No, it's ok. They can stay for this. After all, I think I have worried them too much as it is." She went silent for a moment, attempting to put her thoughts into words, took a deep breath, and began.

"For the past couple of weeks, I have been feeling somewhat at odds with myself. The first day this happened I passed it off, thinking it was just some sort of random whim. But the feeling wouldn't go away. I started to try and search for what was causing this, but I couldn't come up with an answer. Half an hour ago, I received a clue."

Pulling up the sleeve of her dress, she showed everyone present the X that was on her arm. "It's them. I know it has something to do with them, but I can't figure out just what it is."

Cobra had taken one look at that tattoo, and then returned his gaze to Vivi. "What exactly happened today?"

Vivi relayed her moment with the little girl in the city, repeating everything that was said. Cobra closed his eyes for a moment and then asked Vivi, "So then, what is your heart telling you?"

Vivi, clearly not expecting that question, was taken a bit by surprise, but managed to regain herself after a brief pause and answered, "What kind of question is that? Isn't it obvious? It wants me to be here, with my people."

Cobra was sure that inside, even Vivi didn't believe the words coming out of her mouth. "Vivi, I am your father. No one knows you better than I do. That being said, I am going to ask you again. What is your heart telling you?"

Vivi's face immediately shifted, and Cobra was more than a little perplexed when he recognized a look of shame on it. "It wants me to go out to sea with them."

To Vivi's immediate surprise, none of them even so much as looked surprised at this admission. Chaka was the first to speak up, the smile on his face causing a lot of confusion to rise within Vivi. "Is that all, Vivi-sama? We figured that this was going to happen sooner or later. You have nothing to feel ashamed about."

"But I can't go. I want to, but I can't just leave the country just because I want to be with them. I have a responsibility to the people here, and if I were to leave I would be completely ignoring-"

Igaram cut Vivi off there. "It wou- Ahem. Mah-mah-maaaaaaaah. It would be even more irresponsible of you to go against your own word. If I remember correctly, those words that little girl told you, to follow whatever your heart says, were given to the people of this country by you."

Vivi still tried to fight it off. "But I-" Once again though, she would end up being cut off.

"Vivi-sama." Pell's voice would come from the doorway, causing her to turn towards him. "I understand that you feel you must sacrifice your own happiness for that of the country, but it is ok for you to want to be happy as well. And if that means having to leave the country, then that is fine. You have my unquestioning support, as well as that of Chaka, Igaram, and your father."

"But what about-" Vivi was becoming just slightly irritated with constantly being interrupted like this.

"You have had the people's support since day one. I have no doubts that you will have it in this matter. And what more could a princess ask from her people than their complete devotion to her happiness?"

Vivi went silent once more, but this time it was not to think of another argument. Whatever wall she had placed between her and her true feelings about this matter had just been systematically torn down. A feeling she could not put into words had just been released within her, and it felt good.

Chaka smiled once more, reading the expression on her face perfectly. Not like she was making an attempt to hide it. "I take it you are out of reasons to think you have to stay?"

Three words, almost in a whisper, escaped her lips. "I can go?"

"Only if this is what you truly wish to do." Igaram placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled.

Vivi could feel the tears building but shook her head roughly, attempting to shake them away. She had done more than enough crying her first time with them, and she was going to make sure she stopped that right now. "Thank you, all of you."

"Vivi." As silent as his voice was, it still rang out for all present to hear, capturing all of their attentions. "I must ensure that you understand exactly what this means. If you are sure about going out to become a pirate, then I must take the proper steps to ensure the safety of this country." He paused to give her time to prepare for his words. "I will have no choice but to cut you off from the family name. You will be unable to return to this country as Nefertari Vivi, princess of Arabasta. You will not receive any support from me or anyone of this country. I know it seems cruel, but I have to think about the safety of the country. Just the fact that you were the princess of this country will be enough to put us under some scrutiny from the world government. If it gets out that we actually helped, then who knows what will happen. Understand that once you are with them, you will no longer have our support."

Igaram, not surprisingly, was the most shocked of everyone there, his eyes wide and his whole body rigid. Both Chaka and Pell barely managed to look simply downcast at this announcement. All three of them knew the protocols for such an event like this; a member of the royal family abandoning the country. That, however, did not mean that they had to like it at all.

Cobra had been expecting these reactions from the members of the royal guard, but the reaction from Vivi herself had taken him by surprise. "I understand, father." He face was set in a mask of indifference that he had not seen her use ever. "This is what I wish to do, no matter what the cost."

Cobra looked at his only daughter for a while before nodding his head. "Very well. Then I shall have our fastest ship to be made ready to take you-"

"No!" Aside from the feeling of satisfaction she got from interrupting someone this time, she was somewhat please at the shocked look on her father's face. "Not yet. There is one more thing that I need to do before I can leave. Chaka, Pell, I need the two of you to train me."

Both of the males in question turned towards the princess, waiting on an explanation. "I need to learn how to really fight. I wasn't very useful to the crew during my first time with them. Even when they were counting on me, even when I tried my absolute hardest, I only seemed to be a hindrance to them. This time, I do not intend to simply stand on the sidelines while they fight. If I cannot fight for myself, then I will not leave this country until I can." She turned her gaze to the both of them, and attempted to make it as hard as she could, something else she would have to practice at. "I don't care how hard you have to be on me. I want the two of you to toughen me up as best as you can."

Both of her guardians glanced over at each other and nodded. "If that is what you wish Vivi-sama. But understand that this will not be like before. When you were first learning how to use your strings, we went easy on you because you were a novice. If you are serious about this, then neither of us will hold back." Chaka spoke for the both of them.

"And that means we will be using our devil fruit abilities against you." Pell spoke this time.

"I would expect nothing less of you two. We shall start early tomorrow morning, before sunrise if that is alright with the two of you."

Both of them managed to look surprised at this, but they still smiled. "Very well, Vivi-sama."

"Oh, and one last thing father. Could you please make sure that Kohza does not, under any circumstances, find out about this?" Once again, Vivi had managed to surprise the hell out of all present.

"If he does find out, I can guarantee that it will be from no one in this palace. Though I doubt that will be difficult since he rarely comes to the palace anymore. I was beginning to worry that something had happened between the two of you."

Obviously not wanting to linger of that topic, Vivi simply waved it off. "Well, thank you father." She turned back to her two new trainers. "Ok, I'll be seeing the both of you early tomorrow, right outside the southern entrance to the city. Later." And with that she headed out of the throne room.

Once she was out of earshot, Chaka turned to the rest of the men present and held out a hand, a wide smile on his face. "I believe that is 500 berri a piece."

The three others place a handful of bills into his hand, while he thought to himself, "Whew. Lucky she didn't decided to do this a week earlier; else Igaram would be the one cashing in."

-Southern Entrance, 5:45am-

The city was dead silent. Not a soul roamed the streets of Alubarna this early in the morning, save for the occasional patrol. However, one other person made her way down to the southernmost part of the city through these streets.

Vivi, dressed in a pair of blue pants and a green short sleeve shirt, walked quickly towards the meeting area she had designated for her training, barely able to contain her anticipation for what was to come. She had barely managed to get enough sleep last night because of her excitement.

After reaching the southern entrance, where she broke off into a light jog for the last leg of her trip slowing down only to safely travel down the stairs, she had begun warming up a little bit while waiting on her two trainers to arrive. 5 minutes later, Chaka and Pell were seen coming down the steps, though only Chaka was armed which confused Vivi.

Pell would be the one to explain. "We will be using this first day to assess your skill level. You will fight with Chaka while I observe."

Vivi nodded her head and took a deep breath, ready to take her first step towards returning to where she now felt she belonged. "So you want me to just come at you as best as I can?"

"That is correct, Vivi-sama. Your goal today should be to try and defeat me. I doubt that you can, but that is your goal."

Her eyes narrowed slightly. Even if she knew that she didn't have the combat skills required to fight on their level, that comment still struck a nerve with her. She released both of her strings and settled into a fighting stance. She waited another couple of seconds before finally starting. "Kujakki String Slasher!" She shot her left string out towards Chaka, who easily sidestepped it. Vivi had already started running towards him, bringing her right string out in front of her, aiming for Chaka's head.

Chaka ducked under the incoming string and retaliated with a punch to her stomach, causing her to stumble backwards. Vivi coughed a little bit before retracting her first string and settling back into her stance. 'Well, that failed miserably.' Her gaze hardened slightly as she considered how she should attack next. 'Ok, then let's try this.' She jumped backwards and brought her right string around to Chaka's side, which he ducked under. Vivi then brought her second string around to Chaka's other side, this time keeping it low enough so that he would have no choice but to jump over it to dodge it, which he did. 'Gotcha!' Vivi then swung her first string back, attempting to catch him while he was in the air, unable to dodge. Unfortunately she did not take into account the fact that Chaka was armed. Chaka drew his sword and stopped her strings movement with it. Vivi recalled both strings and then charged Chaka. She brought both of her strings around this time, attempting to sandwich him between them. Chaka merely hopped over both of them, though he kept himself as low to the ground as possible and dashed forward as soon as he hit the ground. Vivi tried to bring her strings back, but wasn't fast enough and found herself frozen, Chaka's sword point right on her neck.

"Again." Chaka brought his sword down and stepped back, waiting for her to attack him.

For the better part of 3 hours it continued on like this. Vivi would attempt to find some way of defeating her guardian, and Chaka would easily defeat her. After Vivi had looked him in the eye after one of their mini exhibitions and said, "I thought I told you not to hold back on me," Chaka had started knocking her back with the butt of his sword. And while it was becoming somewhat difficult for Pell to have to sit and watch, Chaka was having an even more difficult time having to be the one to do it.

What really disturbed him was how she kept on getting up and asking him for more.

Vivi herself had started to become far more aggressive with her tactics. She still had yet to land a solid hit, or any kind of hit, on Chaka, but her attacks were just barely missing their target. She was also starting to employ different types of attacks, but they were still just as predictable as her others.

At this point it was unclear to either Chaka or Pell how she was still standing. She had taken a lot of punishment, and had to have been exhausted from all of the attacks she had tried. Yet, no matter how much she took, she would not stay down.

"Vivi-sama, let's end this now. You are clearly exhausted, and you have yet to even touch me. There is no res-" He would be cut off by Vivi once again charging him. Chaka sighed and brought his sword up in front of him.

"Kujakki String Slasher!" Vivi shot both of her strings out, aiming for his chest. Chaka sidestepped them and rushed forward. "Runback!"Vivi brought both of her strings backwards attempting to catch him from behind. Chaka was almost caught off guard, not expecting the follow up attack, but quickly turned and deflected the string. Vivi, shocked that her surprise attack had been blocked, tried to bring her other string back around to stop him, but was too slow and caught the butt of his sword in her stomach. She stood there for a few seconds before dropping to her knees and then falling forward.

Chaka closed his eyes and sheathed his sword. "I think we are done for the day Pell."

"Yes it would seem that way."

"N-no. Not yet." Chaka's eyes shot open, and he was met with the sight of Vivi, struggling to get to her feet. "I have not been…… beaten yet." She had made it to one knee, panting heavily. Her eyes came up to meet with Chaka. "Let's…. continue."

Chaka watched as she, rather unsteadily, stood up before him. Her strings were dangling down to the sand, meaning she barely even had the strength to hold up her own arms. "Vivi-sama, you can't continue. You-"

"I will beat you. I will-" There was a small 'whack', and Vivi's eyes rolled back in her head slightly as she fell forward, unconscious. Pell stood behind her, his arm held up in a knife hand.

"Was that really necessary, Pell?"

"It's like you said, she couldn't have continued. If she tried she might have seriously injured herself which would have been detrimental to her goals." In truth that was only half of the reason he had done that, though he wanted to keep the other half between himself and Vivi.

"I suppose you have a point there." He looked down at the girl and sighed. "She is a mess."

"Yes, she isn't bringing out her weapon's true potential. Her strategies are terribly easy to read, and even if she could come up with better ones, she is very slow," Pell observed.

"Though I will admit that she has a knack for thinking on the fly. Some of those surprise attacks she used probably would have hit if she had the speed and skill to use them properly. I suppose that will have to come with time." Chaka bent down to pick her up, draping her over his shoulder.

"True, though it may not be as much time as we expect. She is very determined to do this. While she may have gone a little overboard, the fact that she kept on coming back again and again is impressive. Who knows how fast she will get better." Pell started walking back to the city.

"I say we split it up. I'll take her during the mornings and work on her physical attributes; speed agility, strength, etc."

Pell nodded at this. "Then the afternoons will be spent with me. I can help her with her weapon skill. I was the one who introduced her to it after all. Then what do you say to meeting up and sparring after that? We can alternate between the two of us each day."

"Sounds like a plan to me. For now, let's get her in bed so she can have a chance to rest."

-Later that day-

Vivi would wake up feeling sore all over, though when she looked back on her day, it wouldn't surprise her. She had taken one hell of a beating that day, but she still had nothing to show for it aside from a couple of bruises she had found.

Looking back on the fight, however, made her wonder just how she ended up back in her bed in the palace. Try as she might, she could not seem to remember anything past getting up after Chaka had dropped her with a butt stroke to her gut.

"So you are awake finally." Her head turned to the door of her room, where Pell stood leaning against it.

"Pell, what happened? How did I get back here?"

"Chaka carried you back here."

Vivi looked down, feeling somewhat disappointed in herself. "I did horrible didn't I?"

"I am not going to lie. You are definitely not the ideal warrior. However, not only do you have much space for improvement, you might be able to fill that space faster than most anyone else."

Pell's statement caused a small glimmer of happiness to form in her. "I suppose, but still couldn't even touch Chaka when we sparred. I even ended up fainting at the end of it."

"You didn't faint. I knocked you out." Pell held up a hand to stop her from protesting. "If you had continued on there was a decent chance of you seriously injuring yourself, and that would have caused you to have to wait even longer before you could set out to sea."

Vivi allowed this thought to simmer in her head for a moment. "But still…."

"She was starting to come out again."

At that Vivi froze, eyes wide with terror and her mouth hanging open.

"No one else knows about her, and after what I saw that first time, I didn't think you would have wanted her to emerge while you were fighting Chaka. I had to stop you before you did something you would no doubt regret doing."

Vivi could do nothing more but nod her head dully. The last this she wanted was to be reminded of _her_. In fact, Vivi was sure that she had pushed _her _out of existence a long time ago.

"I know that you wish for us to be as hard as we can on you, but I must ask that you reconsider this. I won't always be there to stop you."

Vivi shook her head and looked back at Pell. "No, it's ok. I'll be fine. I just have to remember to stop before I get too far ahead of myself right?" She could see the look on Pell's face. "I'll be fine, Pell. Really."

Pell would eventually concede nodding his head with his eyes closed. "If you say so Vivi-sama." He stood up and headed for the door. "Oh, we have determined your training schedule. You will be spending the mornings with Chaka building your physical attributes. Then, you will come to me in the afternoons for training in your specific weapon. After that, we will all get together for an evening sparring session to gauge your progress."

"Ok." Inwardly Vivi smiled. Tomorrow would be quite possibly the most difficult day of her life, and she couldn't wait for it. "In the mean time, wanna join me for dinner? I haven't eaten anything all day."

"Of course, Vivi-sama.

-One month later-

The scene itself was almost similar to her very first sparring session with Chaka. She looked as if she had been put in a blender, with various cuts and bruises all over her body. Her hair, which had started out tied back into her usual ponytail, was cascaded down her body, parts of it covering her profusely sweating face. Her pinky fingers were starting to turn a bright red from the strain she had been putting on them.

The difference between now and then, however, was the fact that the half jackal and the half falcon that she was fighting looked even worse off than she did.

As she had anticipated, the first day of this new training regimen had been the absolute hardest of her life. Chaka had shown absolutely no remorse, demanding that she push her body harder than she thought any single person could push. Everything had to be done as fast as possible, or else she would keep on doing it until he was satisfied with her speed. As his primary goal was Vivi's speed and agility, cardio exercises were plentiful. There was a lot of running, sprinting, and various other things that required her to move quickly. By the time he was ready to call it a day that first day, she was in so much pain that she was seriously considering just going back to the palace and taking a nice long bath. For the rest of the day. Then Chaka reminded her of the next stage of her training day.

Though sore, she still managed to tough it out and make it to her meeting with Pell, who wasted no time in beginning to reeducate her on how to use her weapons. As a lightweight weapon, the Kujakki Strings were best used aggressively. Constantly attacking the enemy in order to keep them off balance. And thanks to their flexibility, they weren't just used to attack the opponent head on. Vivi had grasped this concept a little bit, but was still completely unaware of the many other ways she could use her weapons to defeat her enemies. Basically, the weapons themselves could become very powerful, if the user can think of creative ways to use them. What followed was Pell observing as she attempted to use different attacks of a set of dummies he had set up. He saw quite a few possibilities, and made sure to keep them in mind for their next session.

The sparring sessions after this was where she had started to build a little more confidence. Chaka faced her that first day, and while he had yet to truly open up on her, she did manage to get in a couple of glancing blows using a couple of the newer attacks she had come up with. She did remember to forcefully keep herself from going too far during this session. Last thing she wanted was another accident to happen.

And this was how it went for the better part of the month. Chaka attempted to run her into the sand, and Pell helped her to refine her attacks, as well as teacher her some battle strategies. With each passing day, she noticed that she was getting better and better. She was now keeping up with the demanding pace that Chaka had set for her, one time even outrunning him. Pell had to intervene less and less during their sessions. Now all he had to do was present her with a situation and watch as she planned out every detail. Her weapon skill had dramatically improved, though each of them had learned this the hard way during their respective sparring sessions with her.

Within the first few days of her training, she had managed to knock Chaka off of his feet multiple times. By the end of the week both Chaka and Pell felt she had advanced far enough to try and challenge them in their transformed states. It took her a couple of weeks, but eventually she had defeated both of them while they were transformed. That was when she had suggested they both come at her during their sparring sessions.

Fast forward a week. Vivi was at first surprised that she was holding up so well on her own against the both of them, especially since they had finally taken off the gloves and were coming at her full strength. Then she reminded herself that for all of that month, she had been sparring with them after they had got finished with whatever training they had her do. Today was the first time she had sparred with them at 100% since her performance evaluation against Chaka. And to be honest, it felt good.

Chaka would attack next, coming at her full speed with his sword pointed straight forward. Vivi brought her right string up and shot it towards him, though the speed at which she did this was nothing like what it had been. As it was, Chaka barely had enough time to divert it away from him, and was about to continue on when he noticed the smile on Vivi's face. A second later, she gave a small twitch of her wrist which caused the string to wrap around his sword. Chaka's eyes widened slightly. 'Where the hell did that come from?' Vivi then pulled back hard on the string which with the momentum he had already built from his lunge caused him to stumble forward.

Vivi used the force of her own pull to send herself shooting forward, ready to attack with her second string. However, a small bit of motion caught the very top of her vision, and she looked up to see Pell coming down from the sky, setting up a strike with his sword. In an almost fluid transition Vivi brought the string she had been about to attack Chaka with up, shooting it out towards Pell. He had already brought his sword up to block the string. One more twitch of her wrist and the string's path would be diverted, instead moving towards his legs and wrapping around them. Vivi then pulled down as hard as she could, pulling Pell down to the ground. There was a loud thump followed by a nice tall cloud of sand.

As she released her strings hold on Pell she was about to turn back to Chaka to finish him off, but caught something out the corner of her eye. She turned and was met with Chaka running towards her. He had used Pell's distraction to drop his sword and come around behind her. Fortunately, she was not completely out of options. Quickly releasing her string's hold on his sword she brought that one around quickly, hoping to knock him into next week. "Kujakki String Runback!" Chaka, however, had anticipated this and at the very last second, ducked under the incoming string. "Gotcha!" He lunged forward ready to deliver the final blow, but was once again met with a small smile on Vivi's face. "Double!" Continuing her rotation, she brought her second string around. Chaka had already left his feet, and didn't have his sword anymore. Even if he did, he doubted he could have moved fast enough to block it. So he was basically defenseless as her string crashed into his side, sending him sliding across the desert.

He wouldn't have much time to recover either. As soon as he opened his eyes, Vivi was there standing over him, holding one of her buzz saw like strings inches from his face. Chaka watched her for the better part of a minute before finally smiling up at her. "Congratulations, Vivi-sama. Your training is over. You are ready."

-Chapter 1 End-

Ok, it's only the first chapter, but personally, I am already enjoying where this one is going.

As you can no doubt tell, I will be attempting to add a little more detail towards parts that I feel need it. Of course, if any of you feel the need to voice your own opinions about parts that could have been done better, then by all means please let me know. Don't worry about the fights. I already know that they need the most work.

For those of you who are unaware, this story is a complete rehash of my original story "Vivi Returns". You can read it if you want to but I would suggest holding off on that. Wouldn't want to spoil certain parts of it for ya.

That's all I got for now. R&R&Have a nice day.


	2. Final Farewells

-Chapter 2 Final Farewells-

Vivi remained in that position for a few more seconds after Chaka had made his declaration before she finally eased up her stance, her strings ceasing their spinning motion and retracting themselves. Holding out a hand to Chaka, the battered, beaten, bruised princess managed a surprisingly large smile, considering what she had just been through. "You really think I am ready?"

Chaka accepted the hand gratefully. "No. I know you are ready. You have advanced at a rate that Pell and I have found to be unbelievable." Speaking on said guardian, both Vivi and Chaka looked in time to see Pell, in his human form, slowly making it to his feet. "Now, you should have no worries."

"He is right Vivi-sama. There is no doubt in my mind that no matter what the case may be, you will be fully capable of defending yourself, and your nakama." Pell finally made it over to the other two, limping just a little bit. "To be able to defeat the both of us at the same time while we are both transformed is no small feat. You are ready to defend yourself against any of the ravages that the Grand Line."

Vivi could only manage to maintain the smile she had put on for a little while longer before she suddenly grimaced and put a hand on her side. "Well, let's worry about getting me on the sea first. Sorry to have to ask you this right after what we just put ourselves through, but do either of you think you are up to helping me get ready?"

Both Chaka and Pell could only chuckle lightly, not daring to attempt to break out with a full fledged laugh. Both of them knew they were in too much pain for that. Chaka would be the one to speak first. "The preparations are already done. Your ship is ready to set sail at anytime, and the crew has been briefed." Pell picked up as soon as Chaka had finished talking. "We had the most recent maps of the Grand Line, as well as the way the islands are connected, and determined the last known position of the Straw Hat Pirates. It seems that they were last seen at Navarone, the Marine fortress. Given this information we have a decent idea as to their location on the Grand Line. We may be in luck as well, since by the time we reach their general location, they will have reached a series of islands that require a decent amount of time to set their log. We have acquired eternal poses for some of those islands so with any luck, we will be able to find them within a few weeks of setting off."

Vivi had started walking back to the city, both guardians flanking her while they filled her in on what she needed to know. "I see. Well I was expecting you to have all of that ready, but I wasn't talking about that. First thing I am gonna need is a hot bath. Then a large meal. And while I am doing that, I am gonna need the two of you to spread the word throughout the city. I will be giving a speech later on this afternoon." She began to climb the steps of her city, probably for the last time ever.

Needless to say, both males had a sort of confused look on their faces, but both of them would still bow their heads and give her an in stereo "Hai." Vivi smiled and continued to walk up the steps, part of her actually glad that this would be the last time she would have to walk up the far too high flight of steps.

-Later That Afternoon-

The streets of the city of Arubarna surrounding the palace were packed. Anyone and everyone present had been informed about this surprise gathering, told that the princess had something very important to say. The people were only too happy to oblige the woman who had fought to save their city- no, their country.

They didn't have to wait too long. Striding down the walkway towards the platform, Princess Vivi appeared before her people. Taking the den den mushi in her hands she began to speak. "Before I begin I would just like for all of you to rest assured. This time I am actually here."

Many of the people still remembered the speech that Vivi had given after the Crocodile incident. As such, they were instantly suspicious of whether or not Vivi would actually be there for this speech once again. However, their suspicions were quelled when Vivi made herself completely visible to her people, removing any doubts that it was actually her. This was received by a loud cheer from the people of Arubarna, which she allowed to go for about 20 seconds before she raised a hand to silence them. "What I am about to say to you has not been prepared for me by some speech writer. However, I have not really thought about what I am about to say before coming here. What I say now is all coming to me as I stand here before you." Taking a deep breath, she began what could quite possibly be the most important speech she has ever given to her people.

"During my very first speech to you as princess of this country, I told you that above all else, you should listen to whatever your heart tells you. No matter what you did, as long as it was what your heart was telling you, that was all I could ask for. And not wanting to be a hypocrite, I tried my very best to practice what I preached. Which was why, when I initially found out about Crocodile, I left the country so that I could possibly save it. It was what I felt my heart was telling me to do.

"I was while I was doing this that I met a man and his friends. Believe it or not, our very first interaction was him punching me in the head. To be honest though, I think I may have deserved it at the time. From that moment on, the course of my quest would change forever. After a brief altercation with one of his friends, and a little bit of explaining, without any hesitation whatsoever he would agree to help me out. Even after finding out about Crocodile, even after finding out that he was a Shuchibukai, he only seemed to be even more excited about the entire situation.

"The rest of his friends accepted me easily. While they each may have had their own opinions about me, as a whole they respected his judgment. And so the journey back to my country began. Along the way we made more friends, help others with their problems, and even cast a false king out of the kingdom that he had abandoned. Eventually, we reached Arabasta. At first my plan was to stop the rebellion by keeping the rebels from reaching Arubarna, but in almost a childish way, this man would say no. He showed me that just stopping the symptom would not cure the disease. If we really wanted to save this country, we would have to stop the source. We would have to stop Crocodile.

"Many lives were lost in the battle. Yet I do truly believe that he was right. That the course of action we took was the correct one. And sure enough, he would pull through for my country. He would pull through for me. He defeated Crocodile. His name is Monkey D. Luffy, he is a pirate, and he saved this country."

Vivi would then pause, letting what she had just said sink into the minds of her people. At first, all she got was stunned silence, and for a while she wondered if they truly understood what she had said. Then the whispers started. She let them speculate for a little while longer before she continued. "Yes you heard me right. The people who saved our country are pirates. Some of you may ask why I am telling you all of this, and I can tell you that there are two reasons. The first reason is that I quite frankly felt that you would have wanted to know who really fought back those that threatened to see our country burn.

"The second reason, however, is the main reason for this gathering today. I began this speech by reminding you of my words, yet ironically it would be you who reminded me of my own words. About a month and a half ago, I suddenly started to feel conflicted. I couldn't really explain what it was, and I didn't think that it would last. Two weeks later, I was walking through the city, trying to figure this out, when a little girl reminded me of my words." She had been building them up to this moment, and now she was ready to deliver the biggest news that she had every given to them. She took one more deep breath and then spoke. "I have called you all here today to announce that I will be leaving this country and going out to join Luffy and his crew…. as a pirate."

Naturally, this elicited a completely shocked response from the gathered group of people. 'And this is just the people that live in the city. I wonder how this would have turned out if I had given this speech to the entire country.' Most were just confused, and many were stuck asking why. Once again raising her hand, it took a little longer this time for her to acquire the silence of her people. "I am leaving because I don't want to be a hypocrite. I told you to follow your hearts in whatever you do. Right now my heart is leading me out to sea, with the Straw Hat pirates. As much as I don't want to go, at the same time I don't want to seem like I am purposefully ignoring my own words. I cannot simply force myself to do something when my heart wants me to do something else.

"I set sail tomorrow. As soon as I am discovered, as soon as word reaches here that I am a pirate, my father will completely cut me off from the family name. I will no longer be Nefertari Vivi, Princess of Arabasta. I will simply be Vivi, member of the Straw Hat pirates. I will receive no support from this country, and barring another invasion and attempted takeover, I will be seen as just another pirate by my father and treated as such. There is nothing that you can say or do that will change my mind. I can only hope that you all can accept my decision, and possibly wish me the best.

"In closing I will say this. I love this country, I love this city, but most importantly I love each and every one of you. I cannot put into words how much I appreciate the support you have shown me ever since I was born. My only regret is that I could not stay long enough to become Queen Nefertari Vivi. Thank you all for what you have done for me." By this point, everyone would have been expecting her to have tears streaming down her face. She was usually highly emotional in situations like these. However, she simply put the microphone down, turned, and began to walk away from the platform.

She had gone maybe 17 steps when she began to hear the sounds of clapping coming from behind her. Stopping for a moment she turned around as the clapping grew louder and louder. And before long, the collected group of people gathered in the town square started to erupt into applause. From different parts of the crowd, chants of "Vivi, Vivi" and "Thank you Vivi" could be heard, and all Vivi could do was smile and bow very low to her people. Turning again, she headed back for the palace, noticing that each and every guard she passed was trying to hide the fact that they had been weeping uncontrollably.

From within the cheering mass of people, there was one that did not cheer with the rest of them. This man would rush back to the city limits, climb onto his horse, and rush his was back to inform his leader about what he had just heard.

As she listened to the cheering voices of the people of her city, Vivi couldn't help but allow a small tear to fall from her eyes. Everything that she had said there was true. She loved this country and would most definitely miss this country deeply, but right now she was focused on returning to where she now felt she belonged.

"I have given quite a lot of speeches in my time as King, and yet I do not think that I will ever give one as moving as that one was." Her father had taken his position at her side, walking her back to the palace interior.

"I meant it when I said I was basically making up the speech while I was up there. You should try it sometime." She turned her face to her father and sighed a little bit. "So what happens to the royal line now? I mean unless you've been having an affair that I don't know about, I should be the only blood related member to the family line."

Cobra smiled and turned to face forward. "I have been thinking about that ever since I found out about your little adventure with that straw hat boy. I had been expecting you to decide to leave us and had been planning along with Chaka, Pell, and Igaram. Maybe it is about time that we change things up a little bit. Therefore, when I am deemed unfit to rule over this country, we will hold an election for the next king. We will have to establish a sort of political education system in order to train possible candidates, but I do believe that everything can be settled before I have to step down from the throne."

Vivi nodded her head, aware that this was probably the best decision that could be made for the country. "Well, glad to see that my leaving hasn't left the country completely screwed." She stopped for a moment when a thought came across her mind. "I just now realized this. How are we gonna explain this to everyone? I mean, what possible reason could I have for wanting to go that far away from my country? And even then how could I explain willingly jumping ship to the straw hat crew without raising some sort of suspicion?"

"Ah Vivi, have you no faith in my planning abilities?" Pell rounded the corner at just that moment, arms folded behind his back. Bringing one arm around he handed Vivi a piece of paper. "This is a request form to Water 7 to have one of our ships upgraded. You will take one of them and head in that direction. While you will have an Eternal Pose for Water 7, you will not need to use it. Once you are with the straw hats, the crew will simply sabotage the ship in a way that makes it seem like it was attacked by the pirates. I have briefed the crew on what they should do under certain circumstances and while they won't deny any help from other passing ships, they will be doing all they can to avoid the world government so as to avoid any unforeseen complications that may arise."

Vivi nodded her head at his explanation. "Looks like we have every base covered. Can't think of anything else that we could possibly need to set up for this." Almost as soon as she said the words she violently shook her head. "I have to get out of this habit of planning everything out. I already know this is not going to be how things work on his boat."

"Well, at the very least, consider this our parting gift to you. I will be accompanying you on this trip just in case." Pell placed a hand on her shoulder and smiles to Vivi. "Don't worry, everything will be alright. I promise you that in a short while you will be in the very capable hands of Monkey D. Luffy."

What more could Vivi do other than smile and nod towards her soon to be former guardian? "Thanks Pell. Well I think it is time that I went and prepared myself for tomorrow. I expect us to leave very early so make sure the crew is well rested." Giving a hug to each of the males, she walked off in the direction of her room to pack what little she would need for this trip.

"It is strange, Pell. I have never seen her so alive in my entire life. And to think, it took a pirate to bring this out of her."

Pell nodded his head in understanding. "We can't always choose the path that is truly best for us. All we can do is hope that we eventually find that path. Vivi, with the help of that pirate, has managed to do just that. It would be unwise of us to do anything other than help her reach the goal that this path will send her."

Cobra looked back on his years raising Vivi, her early friendship with Kohza and her decision to try and stop Crocodile on her own. "Yes, it would be unwise."

-Yuba-

A lone horse galloped across the desert, heading for Yuba. The rider seemed almost desperate, pushing his companion to run as fast as he could. If what he had heard was indeed true, then he didn't have a lot of time until it was too late.

Stopping just outside of the town, he leapt off of his horse and ran as fast as he could through the streets, stopping just outside of a large stone building. He burst through the doors and before anyone could say anything else, he said, "We have a problem. Has Kohza come back yet?"

"Oi, oi, oi, what's with all this racket out here?" Kohza stepped out from the back room, looking like he had just come in from the desert himself. Mainly because he had.

He wasn't sure why, but his relationship with Vivi seemed to be deteriorating ever since the Crocodile incident ended. She very rarely came out to visit him anymore, and she was never there when he came to see her at the castle. Deciding to try and rekindle their friendship, and possibly turn it into something more, he had left about a month ago, searching a series of ruins north of the city. There had been rumors about a civilization possibly living there at one time, as well as a set of jewelry that had belonged to the royal family of that civilization still being there. When they were kids, Vivi had offhandedly mentioned wanting even one piece of that set. It took him a month of searching but finally he found it. Earrings, rings, a necklace, a jeweled waist band, and a bracelet, all made with sapphire. Taking the entire set with him he left the ruins for Yuba.

Kohza took one look at the man that had just entered their place of business and smiled. "Calm down, everything is as it should be. Here, I'll get ya a drink. What do you want?"

"Kohza, Vivi is leaving the country tomorrow!"

That stopped him in his tracks. However he laughed it off at first. "Oh, that's a good one. You almost had me with that one. No seriously, what can I get ya?"

"Kohza, I'm serious. She just gave a speech to the entire city of Arubarna, saying that tomorrow morning she is leaving to go become a pirate. And she is not coming back."

This time when Kohza froze, he didn't shrug it off. "She's leaving? Just like that?"

Toto, who had just come in after hearing about all the ruckus, only chuckled a little bit. "It doesn't surprise me. I am actually a little surprised she didn't leave the first time. It was only a matter of time though."

Kohza looked at the old man. "What are you talking about? This is no laughing matter! I have to get to the city as soon as possible."

"I would not advise that Kohza. You know full well how determined she can be. If she really wants to do this, then nothing that you do will stop her."

"She will stay if I am there with her. I know that she is making the wrong choice and I won't allow her to do that." Kohza turned away from Toto and started to head out to the stables when he was stopped by the first man.

"No Kohza, it will take too long. By the time we get there she will have already left for the docks. The best thing for us to do is head to the docks and wait for her there."

Kohza nodded and then headed for his horse, making sure the jewelry set he had acquired was safely secured. 'Please don't leave yet Vivi.'

-6:00 am Docks-

Vivi had been expecting it to be somewhat difficult to hold up her resolve as she had gotten closer to the docks, but now, standing right in front of the ship she would be setting sail on, she found a part of herself really glad that her people would not be there to see her off.

The docks were somewhat busy. While Pell and Chaka had indeed gotten some of the preparations ready, it was utterly impossible to have everything set without raising too much suspicion. Vivi's announcement yesterday had been the catalyst to start the real setup for the trip, and by the time they had arrived, they were almost ready to go.

Originally, Vivi had been attempting to leave in her regular clothing; an aqua blue long sleeve shirt and green shorts with sandals. However, after consulting with both her father and Terracotta, they had all agreed that it would be wise for her to continue to wear some of her more formal clothing until they found the straw hats. So here she was, dressed in another corset (another aspect of her life as a princess that would not be missed) and a white long skirt, ready to get this on. Faster they left port, the faster she would find them.

"Hey! You aren't allowed here!"

"Shut up! I have to see her now!"

Vivi was sure that the first voice was one of the guards so she was originally not going to pay the little disturbance any mind. After all he was just doing his job. However, the second voice caused her head to snap over to them, and sure enough there was Kohza, struggling with the guard to make his way through.

"Leo-san, it's ok. You can let him in." Leo looked back at her for a second, and that was all Kohza needed to push past the guard. While Leo's first instinct was to raise his gun, Vivi had already given her endorsement for Kohza so he just stood there and resumed his post.

Internally Vivi had to sigh deeply. She had hoped that she would have been able to get on the boat without Kohza finding out, simply because she knew this would happen. Kohza wouldn't want her to go, no matter how much she told him she wanted to go. Externally she just managed a small smile. "Kohza, good to see you."

"Don't give me that, Vivi. Why are you leaving?" It was clear that Kohza was all business, so Vivi allowed herself to take on a similar sort of tone.

"As Princess of Arabasta I am not inclined to answer that question Kohza."

"I'm not asking the Princess of Arabasta. I'm asking my friend. What possible reason could you have for wanting to leave here all of the sudden?"

"This is not all of the sudden. I have been preparing to leave for about a month now. And before you ask, I didn't decide to tell you because I knew you would try to do this. Try and stop me from leaving. Well I have made my choice and I am going to stick with it, no matter what, or who, gets in my way."

"Damnit Vivi, you still haven't answered my question!"

"First of all, if you do not regain control of your voice I will have you thrown out of- No. I will personally throw you out of the docks." The look on her face told Kohza that she truly believed she could do such a thing, so he backed down. "Good. Secondly I already told you I do not have to answer that question." She remained silent for a few seconds and then something clicked in her head. "Besides, I don't really think I need to. The fact that you are here means that someone in your little group was at the speech I gave to Arubarna. So you should already know why I am leaving."

"So it is true." Kohza was silent, almost a whisper. "You are leaving for that pirate. You are throwing away everything that you have worked for because of a pirate."

"I am not throwing away anything. I am simply following my heart where ever it wants to lead me. And right now it is leading me out to sea, with my friends."

Kohza knew this was his last chance to keep her so he sucked it up and dropped to a knee. "Well then, this is what my heart is telling me." He grasped her hand and pulled out one of the jeweled rings he had found. "I want to be by your side. For as long as my body and heart will allow."

It was just a childish dream, she had told herself, but looking at the jewels now, she could not believe her eyes. "Is that really……"

"Yes. It took me a month to find them but I did it. And I did it for you. I want you to stay. And I want you by my side."

Vivi had not moved from her spot, almost as if her feet had been rooted to the ground. 'He really did all of this for me. Maybe I should rec-' In that instant, the faces of her friends flashed before her, reminding her of why she was here, at this point, today. 'No I have made my choice. I cannot force myself to change my decision.' Closing her eyes, she pulled her hand away from Kohza. "I am sorry Kohza, but I cannot stay here. I hope you will understand." Giving him one last look, she turned and started to walk away.

Kohza, however, was not about to let it end there. "Wait, Vivi." He surged to his feet and reached out to grab her shoulder so he could spin her back around. "I lov-" Unfortunately for him, the minute his hand had touched her shoulder, she had spun around and, in a well practiced move, struck a point in the side of his neck, causing him to collapse to the floor, unconscious.

"I know Kohza. The problem is I do not feel the same way for you." Taking a deep breath she turned to the guard again. "Leo-san, please make sure that Kohza is taken to the boathouse. I would not want him to be stepped on accidentally." Smiling slightly she walked away from the final piece of Arabasta she needed to sever.

-Boat Steps-

"Well Vivi this is it. Time for final goodbyes, because once you step on that boat, there is no turning back."

Preparations had been completed, and the crew was on board ready to set sail. All that was left was for Vivi to step on board. Pell was already on the ship, keeping his word to escort her to the pirates. Chaka, Igaram, Terracotta, and Cobra were standing in front of Vivi, who had her back to the ship.

Vivi set her bag down and faced the four adults that helped to shape her life. "Terracotta-san, thank you for everything. You taught me everything I needed to know about being a princess, and although I was more than just one handful at time, I still appreciate the patience you showed me. Thank you." A big hug and many kisses later she turned away from the already sobbing Terracotta.

"Igaram. I can never fully express how much it means to me that you came with me to try and take down Crocodile. I may have been the one that started it, but you showed just as much courage coming with me. And that is something that I will always keep treasured with me. I will miss you." After receiving much of the same from Igaram, it was Chaka's turn.

"Chaka, I gave you and Pell hell when I was younger. I even gave you a little when I grew older. But still you stayed by my side, and don't give me any of the crap about how you are the Guardians of the Royal Family, because we both know that had nothing to do with it. You trained me when I made my decision, and you pushed me harder than I had ever been pushed. I won't forget anything you have taught me, and I will use it to protect my new Nakama. Thank you." Chaka managed to settle for a big hug and then released her. Then all three of the adults stepped aside to allow father and daughter their final moment together.

For a while, nothing happened. Cobra and Vivi just stood there, staring at each other. Then, after what must have seen like an eternity, Cobra spoke. "I thought I would have to wait until I passed my crown on to you to see the day that my little girl became her own woman. However, it would seem that day has come much earlier than I had intended it to. When you see the straw hat boy, tell him that I am forever grateful to him for helping my daughter to finally find her own way."

Vivi nodded, just barely holding back the tears, and threw herself at her father, clutching onto him tightly. "Thank you father. For everything." That was all she needed to say.

After finally prying herself away from her father she grabbed her bag and faced her country one more time. And with nothing more than a simply 'Good-bye, Arabasta,' She turned and climbed on board.

Minutes later, the anchor was raised, the sails were dropped, and the ship started to advance out to the sea. Up in the Crows nest, Vivi waved good-bye one last time to her family and friends before turning to the front and looking out to sea. "Everyone, I'm coming home."

-Authors Notes-

HE'S ALIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE

Yes ladies and gentlemen, I am still alive. A series of unfortunate events(no pun intended) has left me off line for quite some time, the worst of them being a very nasty computer virus that left me without a computer for let's just say a while.

But now I am back and hoping to get right back in the swing of things so hate me for being gone if you must but please, please…………

R&R&Have a nice day.


End file.
